Light environment and pigment composition of Megaceros pellucidus
Journal Title: Extreme Life, Biospeology & Astrobiology - International Journal of the Bioflux Society - Year 2011, Vol 3, Issue 1
Abstract
The hornwort Megaceros pellucidus occupies wet, heavily shaded sites. In four sites in the central North Island of New Zealand the maximum photon flux density (PFD) was always less than 10 µmol m[sup]-2[/sup]s[sup]-1[/sup]. The PFD varied weakly during the day depending exponentially on the PFD of full sunlight. Light reflected from surface water late in the day transiently doubled the mid-day maximum PFD.Sunflecks had little impact on the site PFD consistent with the exponential relationship between thePFDs measured at the site and canopy. Plants from low light conditions (0.2 µmol m[sup]-2[/sup]s[sup]-1[/sup]) had the same carotenoid content as plants from higher light conditions (6.9 µmol m[sup]-2[/sup]s[sup]-1[/sup]), but the chlorophyll content of high light plants was approximately twice that of low light plants. The chlorophyll a/b ratio was the same for plants from low and high light conditions. Spectra of acetone-extracts of M. pellucidus thallus from low light grown plants showed an absorbance band at about 340 nm that was not apparent in spectra of extracts from plants grown in high light conditions.
Authors and Affiliations
Roger Watkins, Heather Outred, R. Rowland, Simon Brown
Keywords
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